Radiation Safety Officer

Last week I attended the Radiation Safety Officer program in Las Vegas, Nv. The weather was gorgeous! In the mid-70's, sunshine, bliss! Although I spent the majority of each day inside going to class, I still managed to get an itty-bitty sunburn.

The class, given by Nevada Technical Associates was everything I could have asked for. We even went on a field trip to the Atomic Testing Museum. Woo! Mostly the class was a refresher on subjects that I had already learned, but now I'm certified to be a Radiation Safety Officer.

An interesting tidbit I learned, did you know that the Brazilian nut is the most naturally radioactive food? Often more than 10,000 times more radiaoactive than any other food because of the soil it is grown in. See, you are halfway to becoming a RSO yourself!

On a side note, today is Z's 4th birthday! I will have to post more of that later.

A few life experiences

I HAVE....
Do it yourself! Copy and paste the list into your blog and bold or highlight the items you have done. Here we go....

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language --Double Dutch counts right?
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David -- not in person, but I've seen it.
41. Sung karaoke -- be glad you missed it!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted -- I'm counting the time I had the artist at Disneyworld scribble me and my bestest
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt --finished it this winter, woo!
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Been in love

Hairbinks Vacation notes

Life has been getting craaaazy. Ok, not getting really it's just keeping up the pace with the crazies lately.

We went on our first real roadtrip with ALL the girls. Fairbanks for the Ice Carving Championship. Took the long way up there, so eight hours with three girls crammed into the back seat of the truck.

Ice carvings were ahhhhmazing. And we all had a blast on the ice slides. I love that I am not required (ever) to act like a stuffy adult. I think that's probably why M's daughters like me so much. I love getting goofy, hamming it up. Eventually this will turn into a major embarassment for them, but for now they dig it.

Next we spent some time at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum. This is the first time I've been to a musuem with somebody I was sweet on, it was fun to discuss the exhibits and try to lose the kids. Just kidding about the losing the kids part. Mostly. :)

Ride home from Fairbanks (or Hairbinks as Zoe called it all weekend) was uneventful until the little voice in the backseat piped up "I have to go peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" My sweet girl, is entirely a princess girly-girl. We pulled off to the side of the road and I was trying to explain proper ettiquette for roadside pit stops. Eventually I had to just whip it out (figuratively of course!) and show her how it was done. Lots of giggling ensued, but she successful did her business. Five minutes down the road, "Mama, I gotta go peeeeeee!". I'm guessing she had so much fun with her previous adventure that she wanted to try it again. I hope this isn't going to turn into a new phase.

A few miles outside of Willow there was a massive traffic snarl. One moment we're cruising at 55 mph, and then slamming on the brakes for the stand-still traffic. I kept looking for the major accident I thought had slowed us down, when it occured to us... it's the opening of the Iditarod. And the racers start in Willow.

Smart! Perhaps next time, we'll plan that a little better. Overall,, our first little family vacation was a success! No bodily injury, no hurt feelings, minimal bickering. And lots of fun outside playing in the snow and ice. Score! I'm almost ready to start thinking abou twhere we'll go next.

Conversations with an almost 4 year old

Now this may not seem like much to other people with kids the same age, but I am so amazed at the progress my daughter has made since she got into the speech-therapy preschool. Before school, according to the testing she had the vocabulary of an 18 month old (at the age of 3). Now she sings songs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star being her favorite, and will make up songs as she goes.

Last week.
Me: "You are such a cute punkinhead!"
Z: "I'm NOT a punkinhead mama, I'm a BARBIEGIRL!!!"

Yesterday.
Z: "Spiderman is cool."
This caught me off guard with its randomness, so I burst out laughing.
Z: "Are you laughing at me mama?"
Me: "No baby, I'm laughing because you are awesome!"
Z: "I'm not awesome. You are awesome mama!"

Tuesday after work, I picked up Z at daycare. The kids still waiting for their parents were playing in the indoor gym. I walked through the door to see my daughter laughing and pointing at another child, who was crying. Now this boy wasn't just crying, he was bawling, with streamers of spit and snot.

"Z! That's not ok! Why are you laughing at Peter?" I exclaim. She continues to laugh and point. Uh.... Turns out that the little guy was throwing a massive temper tantrum, and my daughter just thought it was hilarious. Not sure what to do about this, just roll with it I suppose.

A Day off in the Life of GG

The twilight sky has an ominous purple overcast, lightning looks imminent although I have yet to see a single thunderbolt in Alaska. The car is making a funky sound, so we drive it to the Dealership that is curiously placed on the outskirt of my hometown. Beyond the workers there, the place is deserted. Must be about time to close up shop. After I drop off my keys, I see my sweetheart driving away in the rental car. Without me.

What the heck?! I know I have to be heading to work soon, I glance at my watch and realize that I better start hoofing it if I want to make it home in time.

The wind is whipping my hair around my face, blowing grit into my eyes. I'm muttering to myself about how completely miffed I am, I don't have my cell phone or purse with me - I had left them in the car. Walking quickly down the deserted road, I see off in the distance a man in plaid flannel shirt and a straw hat walking on the right hand side of the road. I squint, because it appears to be more than one man, in fact there are 3 guys all wearing the same outfit walking about on the same side of the road, single file, but about 2 blocks apart. Something is eerie about their gait, they are all marching in step in spite of the distance. Feeling dread, I glance behind me and see that there are many more of these... scarecrows. My fight-or-flight reflexes kick in and I start running forward. As I near the scarecrow closest to me, I can hear him grunting softly. Ugh! I pick up the pace, glance over as I about to pass it and see that he's not just a scarecrow but a ZOMBIE scarecrow! The stench wafting from his rotting body makes me increase my pace, but the bugger keeps pace. I should really work out more. Before I know it the Zombie Scarecrow and I are chatting it up, his name is Giles and he looks oddly similar to the Librarian from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

My eyes fly open and I realize that I'm already sitting up in bed. Whoa! What a doozy of a dream. This dream almost competes with the one I had about surfing with a purple gorilla as my surfboard. Zombie Scarecrows. Awesome!

I've been trying to be more domestic lately, I've always been decent about keeping a clean house but I don't strain myself in the kitchen. Most everything I make has been frozen and pre-cooked. Or canned. M mentions in the morning that he'd like to make meatloaf for dinner (this man can cook, I'm so lucky!). I think that's something I can figure out, so I go to my dusty red and white plaid cookbook, and start planning. I really don't want to go grocery shopping so I chose to use whatever I have on hand. Which includes ground beef that was frozen two years ago. Should still be decent, right?

I spend most of the morning piecing my star quilt together (quite possibly the dorkiest quilt made in the history of mankind, I'll post pictures of that gem later!). I don't know what has gotten into me this winter, in November I decided to sign up for a sewing class even though I hadn't sewn since I was a kid. I have a sewing machine that I received as a present six years ago and had only taken it out of the box and put it in the carrying case. On the first day of the class I tell my coworker that I'm going to chicken out, who cares that I had to pay for the class in advance. I had no idea how to even thread the bobbin! Amazingly enough, he know his way around a sewing machine. I lugged the machine in from the car and my coworker gave me the rundown on how to get things going.

Based on my success with sewing a semi-straight stitch, my sweetie's daughters decide that we should sew some flannel pajama pants. I spent all of my free time yesterday making Zoe a pair of pj pants so that I could help the girls make their own today after school, and feel like I knew what I was doing. (Her pj pants turned out great, other than being too baggy for her little frame).

After homework is finished, I get the girls started on doing a zig zag stitch around the edges of their fabric. This is not successful. They do not like picking out stitches when they are way off. We ditch the zig-zag, Eme has already lost interest and is reading Harry Potter in her room. I'm multi-tasking, helping Skye when she needs it and working on dinner.

I don't like how the recipe calls for barbeque sauce on top, my mom always had the most awesome meatloaf recipe but I can't get a hold of her. So I call my grandma for advice for the sauce, she recommends adding brown sugar to ketchup and then baking it.

Zoe has been very helpful in the whole process of making dinner in her satin princess dress. She's got her tiara on, and heels too. I'm fretting about the meatloaf, I don't think it's going to turn out right. Mark returns home victoriously with the brown sugar and I add the glaze halfway through baking. Finally dinner is ready, I hand Zoe her plate of food to take to the table and turn around to continue serving the rest of the plates when I hear a CRASH and Zoe wailing. She slipped while wearing her dress-up heels and has landed on her bum with her dinner coating her from head to heel. Poor baby! The family springs into action, us girls give Zoe loves and get her changed, while Chewy our dog snarfs down the meatloaf on the floor. Five minutes later we are ready to sit at the table when I hear a ralfing noise and to my horror see the dog vomiting meatloaf on the rug.

Great. Now I don't want anybody to eat the meatloaf, its gotta be horrible if even the dog can't keep it down! Everybody is brave and tries it anyway. Surprise, it was actually decent! I can't wait to try it again, except this time with fresh meat and my mom's recipe.

Zombie scarecrows, crafty sewing, meatloaf disasters... All a day in the life of MJ.

Dumb Blonde Salute time!

"Herrooo?" says me as I answer the phone at work.

BF: "Guess what I just found on the kitchen table?!"

Me: "Uh, yeah so I meant to tell you about that... wait... What are you talking about?"

BF: "Your car keys!"

Me: "CRAP!"


We carpooled into work today, Puker drove my car. I didn't even think to check for my keys because I always keep them either in my purse or my coat pocket. Usually in my coat because I have a habit of leaving the house without it, so this makes me have to bring it. I'd imagine that most people think that's incredibly dumb to forget to put on your coat in the winter in Alaska, especially with the weather being -20 degrees all last week.

Long story short, he caught the bus home because he assistant-teaches a kids jujutsu class tonight, and I don't get off work until after 6 p.m. I have the car here, with no keys. This is pretty classic behavior on my part. I'm notorious for locking myself out of my house, or locking the keys in the car. (I can't do that anymore, I have a smartkey.)

I love feeling like a dumb blonde.

Which is why I'm dying my hair fire-engine red again on Friday. Artificial Intelligence ya'll!

2008 in a Nutshell:

1. Where did you begin 2008?

Sitting on the couch, watching a movie with my new guy. We were going through a John Cusack movie phase. Every movie we rented the first few months had Cusack in it.

2. What was your status by Valentine's Day?

In loooooove. And surprised as hell about that. Having been burned badly in my previous relationship, I was fully expecting some scarring to go on. What can I say, I got lucky.


3. Were you in school anytime this year?

Only the School of Hard Knocks

4. Did you have to go to the hospital?

Yes, had knee surgery in February. I was at the hospital quite a bit, between the ortho appointments, the surgery, and the gushing knee post surgery. The best part of that emergency room visit is when the doctor couldn't find a pulse in my foot, leading me to freak out and think my foot would be amputated. Fun! Not even two weeks later, Zoe broke her arm at daycare (got pushed by a boy, awww!). And then Skye busted her femur in a freak sledding accident, the week after that Eme fell off the monkeybars at school and fractured her arm. So imagine 2 of us on crutches, and 2 kiddos with casts on. Mark is the only one who survived all of 2008 unscathed. Knock on wood!

5. Did you have any encounters with the police?

No, not even a speeding ticket.
(Praise the lord, halleluah!)

6. Where did you go on vacation?

Utah and Las Vegas.


7. What did you purchase that was over $100?

Groceries usually cost me more than $100. Oh, I bought a new car this year. A cherry red Prius. Felt so awesome going from 10 mpg to 45 mpg. Yay!


8. Did you know anybody who got married?

Yes, went to a few weddings this year. Puker caught the garter at one of them, I neatly sidestepped the bouquet. No thanks!

9. Did you know anybody who passed away?

Yes, my Grandpa Anderson


10. Did you move anywhere?

I moved the end of June, a whole 17 miles away. Woo!


11. What sporting events did you attend?

A few Hockey Games. I have no clue what is going on out there, but it is so entertaining. I like it when they crash into the boards, and when the helmets go flying and they are kicking the shite out of each other. Good times! And nobody minds it when Zoe runs up and hurls insults at whoever is in the penalty box. Aren't 3 year olds precocious! :D

12. What concerts/shows did you go to?

We tried to go to a Gangly Moose show but they canceled at the last minute. Lame! I've gone to 2 Alpenglow Elementary Holiday Concerts last week, does that count?


13. Describe your birthday:

The day I realized I only have a year left until I am officially a grown up.

Spent it with my honey's bestest friends, they built a bonfire for me. What awesome people!


14. What is the one thing you thought you would not do, but did, in 2008?

Move in with an (awesome!) guy after only dating him for 6 months.

15. What has been your favorite moments?

Sitting around the bonfire, listening to my friends sing drunkenly, going fishing in Seward, and Kenai, Canoeing, hiking with my honey. Good times!

16. Any new additions to your family?

I inherited a Precious cat, we renamed her Snagglepuss. Awesomest cat ever!


17. What was your best month?

Ooh. They were all good! June was difficult, that's when the dissolution was finally done.


18. Who has been your best drinking buddy?

Puker

19. Made new friends?

Yeah, I think so anyway!


20. Favorite Nights out?

Going to the pub with Melissa, Therese, and Puker. Hanging out around the campfire with my friends

21. Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?

Work. Der!


22. Have you lost any friends this year?

No. I haven't lost my keys this year either!


23. Change your hairstyle?

Not the style, but the color fo' sure. I'm thinking of a change next year, my hair is just... difficult. If I don't wear it long it frizzes out even more. Bozo in 2009, sounds like fun!


24. Have any car accidents?

No. Knock on wood!


25. How old did you turn this year?

29, sob, sob, sob.


26. Do you have a New Years resolution?

Yes, to make wiser financial investments and get my first million in the bank.
lol

27. Do anything embarrassing?

I'm so used to embarrassing myself that it doesn't even phase me anymore. So nothing comes to mind right now!

28. Buy anything new from eBay?

Yes I sure did, a few christmas presents.


30. Get arrested?

Nope, and I am knocking on wood for next year, and the rest of my life. Geez, you'd think I was superstitious or something.


31. Been snowboarding yet?

No, I'm too chicken to snowboard. Bad knees and all that, but I've been cross-country skiing quite a few times this year

32. Did you get sick this year?

Yes, seems like more than usual now that I think about it. Stomach flu, sinus infections. Ugh.


33. Are you happy to see 2008 go?

Not as happy as I was too see 2007 go buh-bye.


34. Been naughty or nice?

Can't I be both? ;)